Europa Universalis

The single best strategy game released since "Civilization II" (and perhaps even the original "Civilization.")

This is a huge game. I've been playing it for weeks now and am only now just getting an idea of what's possible.

Elegant, complex, and beautiful, Europa Universalis is a class act all the way, and is certainly worthy of being considered one of the strategic greats of our time.

Those that invest the time it takes to learn all of this game's subtleties will be rewarded with a rich and engrossing gaming experience.

Once you get past the initial shock of how big and occasionally unwieldy the game is, you'll find that the detailed mechanics work to produce an unparalleled level of depth.

If you have no suicidal tendencies, you better never play Europa Universalis on your own; always have a friend at your side to turn off your computer when he notices you haven't had any food, water nor sleep for several days.

The military model is the most simplistic with limited troop options and strategies. As war-gaming, it's barely more complex than "Civ II."

On one hand, Paradox Interactive releases the Hearts of Iron IV: Battle for the Bosporus expansion, plastering loading screens and promotional materials with portraits of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk to take players' money; on the other hand, a stellar moderation team bans players on their official Discord server simply for using an Atatürk profile picture, labeling him a 'controversial/objectionable historical **** a company that has sustained itself for years by selling 'historical depth and realism,' employing moderators who cannot even recognize one of the most respected statesmen of the 20th century—and who are utterly oblivious to the very content of the games they sell—is an admirable display of corporate vision. Tolerating actual WWII dictators and war criminals across your servers under the guise of 'roleplay and historical interest' while banning a leader who led an anti-imperialist war of independence perfectly encapsulates Paradox's blatant double standards.With the 2021 internal scandals of discrimination, mismanagement, and mobbing within your own company still fresh in memory, it is truly baffling with what moral or historical authority you presume to lecture the gaming community. Rather than addressing the toxicity within your own offices, branding the founding father of a nation—whose history you monetize—as a 'controversial figure' is, if not pure ignorance, outright **** advice: before developing historical strategy games, buy your community managers a basic 20th-century historical atlas, or at least teach your moderators who the leaders featured on your game covers actually are. If you are disconnected enough from history to deem a leader on your own store cover as 'objectionable' on your server, perhaps you should stick to designing entirely fictional realms instead of real-world history. Before labeling the founding leaders of the communities whose respect you solicit as 'shady,' consider refunding the money you took for the DLCs sold with their likeness. Instead of packaging and selling the history of nations whose legitimacy and founders you fail to comprehend, focus on fictional universes where your historical ignorance won't show. Mark September 23, 2026: it will be remembered as the day a historical strategy company faced its own ignorance—cashing in on Atatürk's portrait in-game while banning players for displaying that exact same portrait on their official Discord under the guise of an 'objectionable person'."Ne Mutlu Türküm diyene"M. Kemal ATATÜRK

This game is really fun, and has aged pretty well! I recommend that you start playing this game now. Not quite as good as Europa Universalis IV, but definitely worth your time and money.